FreeNovel
Chapter 492
Meanwhile, at Pearson Group.
Jonathan stepped out of the meeting room after he delivered the necessary documents over. Then, he
poured a glass of water before handing it to Leanna. "Have things been hectic in the company
recently?" Leanna asked after a moment of hesitation.
"It hasn't been too hectic," he replied in a rather cautious tone. She froze upon hearing this. "What has
Aidan been up to, then? He seems busy nowadays," she uttered with a frown. "Did something happen
in the Pearson Family?"
Seeing that she had misunderstood the situation, Jonathan hastily attempted to clarify things for her.
"It's not the Pearson Group, nor is it the Pearson Family, Miss McKinney. It's…" He hesitated to finish
his sentence. If President Pearson didn't tell her anything, it means that he doesn't want her to know
about this. In that case, I'm not sure if I should tell her anything.
"I knew it. He's cheating on me, isn't he?" Leanna's face remained blank as she spoke. Jonathan nearly
choked on his saliva at this point. "No. President Pearson has simply been busy with Crossley Group's
matters," he finally explained.
"Crossley Group?" She was surprised to hear this.
"Yes," he replied with a nod. "Miss McKinney, you may not know this, but Leroy had messed things up
in Crossley Group when he was still around. This resulted in a lot of trouble when they tried to tally their
accounts. Furthermore, with the current state that they are in, most of their projects have been halted.
A good number of businesses went bankrupt because of this matter, and many staff members were
also impacted by this."
"Is that what… Aidan has been up to?" she muttered.
"Well, the Crossley Group is one of the largest companies in the country, both in terms of scale and
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtinfluence. Furthermore, they're an independent corporation, so the help that the Pearson Group can
provide is pretty limited," Jonathan explained. Leanna was silent after that.
She hadn't expected Aidan to be dealing with the mess that Crossley Group had left behind. She shut
her eyes and thought about the situation for a while. This must be a really tough situation since Aidan
and Daniel can't seem to deal with it even when they're handling it together. In that case, I guess I have
no other choice. No wonder Jimmy and Raymond came to look for me, she thought.
"You need to trust President Pearson, Miss McKinney. He can handle all of this. He simply needs a bit
more time because of the way the Pearson Family is eyeing his every move," Jonathan continued.
Leanna pressed her lips together and hesitated for a moment before responding, "I got it." After that,
Jonathan nodded before heading out of the office.
She sat on the couch and stared out of the window with a dazed expression on her face. No one knew
what she was thinking about. The bright skies were replaced by a dark, grayish tint as the time
continued ticking. Darkness fell eventually, and the streetlamps started to light up. Yet, Leanna had
been occupied with the same thought since Raymond came over to speak to her.
She was still contemplating this matter, although Zoe and Daniel had both told her not to agree to it.
Both of them had said this would cause her too much trouble, but they had never mentioned that it'd be
a total mistake for her to get herself involved. Everyone knew the only way they could revive the
Crossley Group was for Leanna to step out of the shadows.
It might be because she had been brought up in a way where her priority was her own life, so now, all
she wanted was to live a stable life and protect her loved ones. However, with the current situation that
she faced, she felt like she had to step in regardless of what the other party's intentions were. She had
to do it for her own sake, for the sake of the thousands of workers, as well as for the sake of Aidan.
She was immersed in her thoughts when a man's deep voice sounded behind her. "When did you
come here?"
She turned around to realize that Aidan had returned. "I wasn't here for long. Are you… done?" she
asked. He sat down beside her as he loosened his tie and massaged his temple. "No. I still have a
bunch of documents to handle," he muttered.
"Are you having a headache?" Leanna asked gently when she saw the look on the man's face. "Yeah,"
he replied. "Should I give you a massage?" she offered.
He glanced at her before raising an eyebrow. "Sure," he said. She was just about to stand up when he
shifted his weight to lie down on the couch, with his head resting on her legs. She stared at him
speechlessly. Okay, I guess. She reached her hands out to gently massage the man's temples while he
shut his eyes to get some rest.
After a short while, she checked to make sure that the man wasn't asleep before she started talking to
him. "I heard you've been helping the Crossley Group to deal with their mess," she said.
"Was Jonathan the one who told you about this?" Aidan asked.
"You don't need to know who told me about this," Leanna uttered before pausing. "So, why are you
doing it?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked in return.
"Well, technically speaking, the Crossley and Pearson Groups are not affiliated with one another. Even
if the Crossley Group goes bankrupt, this has nothing to do with the Pearson Group. You've always
been a cold-blooded businessman who puts yourself first, so it is out of character for you to do such a
thing," Leanna responded.
The man shifted his gaze to stare at her. His dark, unblinking eyes remained fixed onto hers for a while
as he looked at her silently. She felt somewhat self-conscious to have him staring at her, so she
reached her hand out to cover his eyes. "I'm giving you a massage. You're supposed to close your
eyes and enjoy it," she said.
Aidan pulled her hand away. "Do you think of me as an evil, blood-sucking businessman?" he asked.
"No. I was just asking," she muttered before she pressed his eyes shut and continued to give him a
massage. "If you're doing it for me, then you shouldn't do it at all. I'm sure you know that I don't want to
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmbe affiliated with the Crossley Group in any way," she uttered.
"Are you scolding me or belittling me now?" he asked.
"I'm praising you. I didn't expect you to be such a responsible man, President Pearson. You've blown
my mind," she uttered.
He paused for a few moments before he spoke, "Leroy had created such a huge mess—this is no
longer just the Crossley Group's business anymore. Their actions also impacted a whole lot of other
things. Even though I might be a cold-blooded businessman, I have my days where I feel like being the
good guy."
Leanna didn't know what to say at that point. Why do those words sound so familiar? "I want to be the
good guy for once, too," she finally said. Aidan opened his eyes and fixed his dark pupils on her face
as he knitted his sharp brows into a frown. She quickly covered her hands over his eyes. "Hey, didn't I
tell you not to open your eyes?" she protested.
"Did someone tell you something?" he asked.
"No… Well, it doesn't matter if anyone told me anything. I saw the news regarding Crossley Group, and
I thought…" Right then, she felt a heavy feeling in her chest that she couldn't seem to get rid of. Before
she could come up with a proper excuse, he interjected, "You don't have to bother yourself with these
matters."
"I know, but they still matter to me, and… I want to be like you—I'd like to be a nice person for once,"
she announced.
"Have you thought this through?" he asked.
Leanna lowered her head before nodding to him. "Yeah, I have," she replied. Since Aidan has been
dealing with this for so long, I have no reason to avoid it, right? Besides, it sounds pretty nice to team
up and work with him, she thought.
Aidan straightened his figure upon hearing her words. Then, he pinched her chin before letting out a
dry laugh. "I knew you'd do this."
She smiled when she met his gaze. "Well, it seemed like I'm a pretty responsible citizen of our society,
too, huh?"
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
